Tag: Molokai

Molokai

Day 1 solo

Randy dropped me off at Terminal 1. I found out I needed to be at Terminal 3 so I took a shuttle over. It was not walkable lol. Both my bags had to be checked. Yikes. At least they are both hard sided. I hope nothing breaks or melts lol. My big bag weighed 50 lbs and it’s really just a medium size suitcase. Second one was 18 lbs and my backpack was 16 lbs. I also had to declare my own weight😂. Good thing they took my word for it lol.

Two hours until take off. Oh well. Gives me time to catch up on my blogging.

Mokulele Airlines.

The terminal is more of a hangar. Tiny waiting room with one vending machine. There is a food truck outside. Lola’s Local Grindz. Since I’m not one to experiment with food and my stomach I chose the vending machine. Lol. There was a perfectly good turkey and cheese sandwich in there.

Excited and nervous to travel solo again. Boarded the airplane. Roll call for seat assignment. Probably by weight. This is the smallest airplane I have ever been on. Ten passenger plus two pilots. Seat belts are like an automobile seat belt. Going across your chest and over your waist. Take off was a little bumpy but once we were in the air it smoothed out. It was cool to see the whole island of Oahu from the air at such a low altitude. I saw a beach I would want to go to.

Descent definitely was rough. Probably because of the wind. I had to hang onto my seat with both hands lol. Landed. Yay. I made it. Walked across the street to the rental car place. I had reserved a Jeep but it wasn’t available so I got a Ford Edge instead. It’s fine. I just won’t be four wheeling in the sand.

Oahu
Molokai

Checked into Hotel Molokai which have privately owned condos through Airbnb. Cozy little cottage type room with a small lanai. Swept the room for cameras and checked the locks. One sliding door with a bar lock. I brought a portable lock for the front door. It attaches to the lock hole and there is another piece that blocks the door from opening. Pepper spray and flashlight next to my bed.

There is no traffic here at all. No anxiety about turning left lol. Went down to the local grocery store since it will be closed on Monday and they close early tonight. Apparently I didn’t do enough research and almost everything is closed on the weekends and then on Monday for the holiday and I’m leaving Tuesday lol. Oh well. This is very relaxing. There is a nice pool and restaurant here.

The ocean out in front of the hotel is brown. Like chocolate milk brown. I guess from the wind. No jumping in there lol. I will drive to a beach tomorrow.

Dinner for Foxpartyofone at Hiro’s Ohana Grill. Table by the water. Delicious 😁 I accidentally dropped some rice into my lap and a tiny bird jumped up and ate it lol. It was so fast.

Weather looks good!

Oahu /Molokai

Of course. Nothing ever goes as planned. I just got notification that my return flight will be delayed two hours. That will put me back in Portland at 11:30pm. since I’m not a fan of a 3 1/2 hour drive that late I will need to find somewhere to stay the night. Which also means I need a hotel that will come and get me from the airport. So I will end up staying there the night before the flight.

Staying the night in Portland before my flight does two things for me.

1. I no longer have to watch Krystal pack the night before the flight. This is good.

2. I will be at the airport waiting for Krystal and Randy to show up to board the flight. This is bad lol.

Historically they are never early for a flight. Not “Kris” early, (5 hours before boarding and not even able to check my bag) 😂 but early like me. Normal early. Two hours early. No, they will run in with 45 minutes to spare 🙄 One time, Krystal forgot her phone and we had to drive back to the house to get it lol. They have been lucky though and never missed a flight. Yet.

Getting packed up. I am taking the bare minimum. The least I have ever packed for a trip to Hawaii. We will see how that goes.

I was asked by a reader why I blog my trips.

I blog to let friends and family know what I am up to. I blog to let others that have thought about traveling solo know that it’s possible. Once upon a time I had my doubts I would ever be able to go and see what I wanted without a partner. Don’t get me wrong. Traveling with someone is fun. Experiencing things together but it’s also exhausting. Making sure the other traveler is having fun too. You might want to go shark tank diving or parasailing and they are afraid of heights or sharks lol. But mainly I blog to remember. To be able to look back and have zero regrets. My first blog to Vegas 2016 solo got deleted off of here but I learned a lot from that trip. Part of it was saved in my personal archives and it’s fun to go back and read it. I’m pretty sure that trip was all about buffets and eating lol.

Well, see you in the air ✈️

Oahu /Molokai

Good news! I booked my flights. I decided to fly out of Portland. And when I say Portland I mean Portland Oregon, PDX. The actual flight with Hawaiian Airlines was down to $400 and adding my seat choice put me at $600. I love flying Hawaiian. You are guaranteed one meal and I always choose the extra comfort seats. There is more leg room and I’ll get a window seat. Flying out of Eugene would have been around $1300 with my seat choices. It also didn’t match up with my flight home from Molokai. This way I can stay on Molokai until the day I fly home.

Now that my flight plans are all buttoned up I can think about packing. I still plan to check a bag but my goal is to use a small, manageable piece of luggage along with a small backpack. I don’t want to have to wrangle a big, heavy bag along with my carry-ons. I will pack a weeks worth of clothing. I’ll be able to wash them at the condo before I travel on to Molokai. I wear my bulky clothes and hiking shoes on the airplane. I always bring my jacket and hat for the flight. Its usually freezing and by wearing a hat and headphones nobody will try to strike up a conversation with me. Lol. Not a fan of small talk lol.

I will be flying over with Krystal, Randy and the kids. So the night before the flight I will drive up to stay with them. I know this will probably put me over the edge mentally. Krystal has a habit of waiting until 10pm the night before to pack. The horror😂. I really don’t know where she gets her traveling skills from lol. Obviously not me. I am Ms. Prepared, most of the time. Just depends on what has been forgotten lol but I do try to write up a good list.

Well, I’ve got a couple of months to get into shape, pack and plan my itinerary.

Wish me luck 🤞🏽🤙🏽😁

Oahu/Molokai

This trip started out as a Foxpartyofone getaway. A little blogging and laying on the beach trip. I love traveling with a partner but I also like traveling solo. I feel like it has helped me to grow as a person. It pushes me to step outside my box. My plans were to go to Maui and Molokai. Well, word got out and that quickly morphed into Foxpartyofseven lol. I got a great deal from a friend, using points at her time share. That went from just me to Krystal, Randy, Camden and Noa and Kasey and Liz tagging along. So I changed it to Oahu. Oahu is very walkable so we won’t be tied to each other. There is a lot to do and see and it can all be done on foot. There is a two bedroom available. We will stay there for a week and then I will travel on to Molokai. Alone lol. This is the last island on my list to visit. I would love to go to Niihau but that is a little outside my travel budget lol but at least I will be able to say I’ve been to six out of seven of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands.

I can’t say this will be my last trip to Hawaii because it won’t. Hawaii calls to me. There is always that whisper in my ear. The ocean. The sand. The sun. The fruit and the aloha. 23 and me found me a less than one percent relative from Honolulu. Lol. For those of you who don’t know me, I was adopted at birth, so my heritage has always been a mystery. I must be from there, right?

As always I am wrestling with the question of checking a bag or carry-on. Carry-on would be so much easier and quicker to deplane but I can’t take any self defense weapons on board so I will have to check a bag. This includes a knife and a tazer. The tazer is compliments of Anna. Thank you. I am somewhat doubtful that it works though. Lol, anyone want to be my test subject?

Traveling solo there are always safety precautions that need to be taken.

1. I never use the bellman to take up my luggage, that would imply I am traveling alone.

2. I always do a safety sweep of the hotel room. Check for cameras, the windows and the locks. Bring an extra lock.

3. Lie and say I am meeting someone or my partner is on their way.

4. Put my car keys and wallet next to my shoes in case I need to leave in a hurry.

5. Keep my cell phone and weapon of choice with me at all times.

6. I never stay on an elevator if someone gets on. that gives me the creeps.

Bottom line, always trust your gut.

Omg it’s May and I haven’t booked the flight…. Reason being, I am having a hard time deciding whether to fly out of Portland or Eugene. Portland is 3 1/2 hours away but it is a cheaper and faster flight. Usually a straight shot to Honolulu. Eugene is an hour drive time but I would have to change planes in Seattle so that adds time to the trip. I can stay in a Portland park-n-fly hotel but that adds time driving and also increases the cost of the trip making it about the same as flying from Eugene. So, it’s a toss up.

Welp. Wish me luck 🤞🏽